Dark Heritage
by Shadowblade217
Summary: What if Cooler had decided to go after baby Kakarot's spaceship on the day Planet Vegeta was destroyed? Raised as one of Cooler's elite soldiers, Kakarot eagerly looks forward to the day when Cooler will move against Frieza. But when Kakarot encounters other Saiyans for the first time in his life, as well as the natives of a planet called Earth, he begins to question everything...
1. Fateful Decisions

**Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT and their respective franchises are the property of Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama.**

_**Dark Heritage**_

**Chapter 1: Fateful Decisions**

_Planet Vegeta_

_Age 737_

In the cold upper atmosphere of Planet Vegeta, the homeworld of the Saiyan race, two figures hovered, facing each other.

One was a Saiyan warrior, by the name of Bardock. He was injured, blood seeping from half a dozen wounds, but he remained defiant, even in the face of the most terrifying being he had ever seen.

Frieza, the overlord of the galaxy and ruler of the Planet Trade Organization, eyed the disobedient Saiyan warrior who dared to stand up to him. He could have simply obliterated Bardock with a thought, caused the Saiyan's body to explode from within as an example of what happened to those who crossed him.

But… no. That wasn't enough. The Saiyans had become a threat, and this had never been more clear than it was now, in the form of this one. Simply killing Bardock wouldn't suffice. Frieza had to end this, to crush the problem that the Saiyans posed, now and forever. And what better way to do that than by obliterating their entire race in one shot?

Bardock, with no knowledge of Frieza's thoughts, concentrated his energy, forcing all of his ki down into his right hand. His hand lit up with blue light, the glow illuminating the crazed snarl on his face.

"This is for all the people we killed in your name!" he roared, swinging his arm forwards and launching the ki blast at Frieza. "Here! HAVE IT!"

Frieza's eyes narrowed, and then he laughed. His laughter grew, as a small orange energy sphere formed at the tip of his right index finger and then began to expand, growing rapidly larger until it was truly gigantic, a sphere of power a hundred meters across. With a casual flick of his index finger, the Death Ball shot forward, moving at an incredible rate. When it collided with Bardock's hurtling ki blast, the much weaker blast was simply absorbed into the Death Ball.

As the massive energy sphere filled his vision, Bardock's eyes widened in dismay and fear. An instant later, the Death Ball engulfed him, accelerating and ripping through the swarm of Frieza's soldiers, incinerating hundreds of them instantly.

As Bardock's armor shattered and fell away, he saw, for an instant, an image in his mind's eye; a Saiyan who looked just like a younger version of Bardock himself, facing off against Frieza.

"_That's… Kakarot!"_ he thought in surprise, his consciousness slipping. _"So… it will be his destiny to succeed where I have failed. May you do your race proud… my son."_

Bardock smiled, closing his eyes, an instant before the heat and pressure of the Death Ball disintegrated him, reducing his body to ashes.

As the Death Ball impacted the surface of Planet Vegeta and sank towards the core, Frieza laughed in delight, the lights of the explosion reflected in his red eyes.

Unbeknownst to Frieza, Bardock, or anyone else who had been present, the entire scene had been observed by another party.

.

Not far away from Planet Vegeta, another ship, which bore a striking resemblance to Frieza's, drifted through the void. On the bridge, a trio of alien figures, wearing purple skintight bodysuits under white armor, were checking the results from the ship's instruments. On the main screen, an image of Planet Vegeta was clearly visible, the planet shaking as Frieza's Death Ball sank beneath its surface, towards the core.

"Ah, and there goes ze whole monkey farm," Salza, a blue-skinned humanoid with blonde hair and a confident smirk on his face, remarked. "Now, this is live entertainment!" His eyes narrowed as he checked a reading on one of the other, smaller screens. "What's this? Someone is getting away!" He extended a hand to Neiz, a brown-skinned alien soldier with a froglike head. "Magnify ze image!"

Nodding quickly, Neiz adjusted the readouts, shifting the image onto the main screen. The feed showed a single Saiyan space pod, rocketing across the void away from the doomed planet.

"Now, where is zis little one going?" Salza mused.

"From what I can find, it seems like he's headed toward a planet called Earth," Neiz replied.

Salza nodded. "Very well, then. Plot an intercept course!"

"Belay that order."

The drawling tones caused all three soldiers to freeze in place; they each dropped to one knee as a hoverchair similar to Frieza's dropped from the ceiling to hover among them.

"But, my lord… someone is escaping!" Salza protested.

"And that's not our problem," their leader replied as the hoverchair glided forward, towards the screen. "Frieza's in charge in this quadrant; let him clean up his own mess."

The figure's lips curved in a smirk. "If he's going to whine and beg our father for control over the entire system like a spoiled little brat, then he's going to accept the responsibility. Besides, it's just a Saiyan child. He's no threat to us." Forgetting the child momentarily, he raised one hand, indicating an image of Frieza on one of the screens as his brother laughed maniacally at the planet's destruction. "Look at him!" he muttered disdainfully. "He's so arrogant that he's blinded by his own pride. That could be King Vegeta on that pod, for all he knows."

With a sigh, Cooler turned to face his three minions. "You've got a lot to learn, brother," he said softly, to himself.

As Cooler prepared to give the order to leave, something stopped him. Turning back to face the screen, his eyes locked on the image of the Saiyan space pod that was fleeing the destruction of Planet Vegeta.

Cooler's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Salza might actually have a point, but not for the reasons he thought. Saiyans were about to become a dying race; at most, there might be a handful of them who had been out on missions when Frieza arrived. That meant that Saiyan soldiers – who could be among the strongest, toughest fighters in the galaxy, if rumors were to be believed – were going to become a rare commodity within a few minutes' time. Especially a Saiyan child, who Cooler could mold into a soldier that he might be able to use against his brother.

Cooler was under no illusions regarding his brother; he hated Frieza with every fiber of his being. He had cared for his brother deeply once; they'd been best friends, closer than anyone else. But those feelings had vanished the moment Frieza – the younger of the two – had been appointed as the new head of the PTO by their father, a position that should have been Cooler's by right of birth. King Cold had always preferred Frieza over Cooler, putting down his older son at every chance he got.

After a long moment, Cooler made his decision.

"Actually, Salza, you're right," he announced. "We're not letting that ship get away." He smirked. "Not when there's a potential new soldier on it, anyway. Plot an intercept course immediately."

Salza saluted him. "As you wish, Lord Cooler!"

As Salza issued orders, the ship banked, flying away from Planet Vegeta just as the Saiyan homeworld exploded in a gigantic fireball.

It didn't take them too long to chase down the Saiyan pod; a tractor beam snagged the small vessel as soon as they were within range, and it was quickly reeled in. Cooler himself, accompanied by Salza, strode into the hangar bay just as the vessel was hauled in and touched down on the smooth floor.

Walking over to the craft, Salza quickly entered a code sequence into the keypad, causing the pod to open with a hiss. Inside, as Cooler had expected, was a young Saiyan, no more than a couple of days old, with spiky black hair and a tail wrapped protectively around his waist.

Cooler nodded. _Excellent._ With a casual exertion of telekinesis, he lifted the Saiyan baby out of the craft and into the air, holding it up effortlessly. The baby began to cry almost immediately.

"Quite a set of lungs on him," Cooler commented dryly. Salza nodded, although Cooler noticed that his second-in-command seemed discomforted by the noise.

"Take him to the medical wing and get him some clothes and food," Cooler instructed, lowering the child into Salza's hands. Gingerly carrying the baby, Salza turned and left the hangar.

Bending down, Cooler reached into the space pod, searching for the control to deactivate the behavior modification systems designed to shape the infant's mind towards bloodlust and the urge to conquer and destroy. Cooler wanted this Saiyan to be able to think for himself; a soldier with the ability to make their own decisions was much more useful than a soldier whose mind had been effectively programmed by a machine.

Locating the control, Cooler waited for a moment; he knew that this infant's name would be loaded into this pod's system. Sure enough, as the message ended and started to play again, he heard the child's name.

"Kakarot," he murmured thoughtfully. Switching off the recording, he rose, closed the pod, and turned to leave the hangar, adding, "Something tells me things are about to get much more interesting around here."

.

_AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my newest story, _Dark Heritage_! I'd been toying with the idea for this story for quite a while, and I finally decided to write it down and see how it plays out! In case anyone's confused, the plot of this story revolves around Cooler raising Kakarot as one of his soldiers, so Kakarot never goes to Earth as a child. We will be including the human Z-Fighters and the other inhabitants of Earth in this story, so don't worry about that, but their storyline won't be crossing paths with Kakarot's for quite a while._

_I do apologize for this chapter's being so short – I just needed to introduce the setting and get the story started – but don't worry, chapters will get much longer in the future._

_I tremendously appreciate comments and feedback on my work, so if anyone has a comment or question regarding this chapter or the story as a whole, please review! (No hate, please)._

_See you all next time!_


	2. Plans and Schemes

**Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT and their respective franchises are the property of Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama.**

.

**Chapter 2: Plans and Schemes**

_Twelve years later_

_Cooler's flagship_

_Age 749_

Kakarot, with a snarl, rebounded off the wall and rushed back towards his opponent, launching a barrage of intense, close-ranged punches and kicks. The yellow-skinned alien soldier he was fighting, a man named Aizu, was able to block most of the Saiyan child's attacks, but a few jabs got past his guard, staggering him backwards.

Yelling, Kakarot ducked under a right hook from Aizu, jumping towards his head and swinging a punch, but was caught off guard by a spinning kick that launched him backwards. He managed to catch himself, rebounding off the wall and landing on his feet.

"Patience, Kakarot," Salza instructed from a balcony overhead, where he was observing the fight. "Your ztrength will only carry you so far in battle; without zkill and tactics, you cannot hope to prevail."

Kakarot nodded wearily, turning back to face his opponent and entering a fighting stance. While he had improved by an extraordinary amount since Cooler had taken him in, he was still only on the level of the ordinary, rank-and-file soldiers. Fortunately, there were many soldiers on the Arcosian's ship, so he had plenty of opponents to train with.

Growling, the young Saiyan focused his energy. _I'm not losing today!_ With a yell, he kicked off the floor and charged again.

.

"How's it coming, Salza?" a voice asked casually from behind the blue-skinned alien as he continued to monitor the ongoing fight.

Startled, Salza turned, dropping to one knee and saluting his commander. "Lord Cooler!"

Nodding to his second-in-command, the tall Arcosian walked past him to the edge of the balcony and rested one hand on the metal railing, glancing down at the fight as Kakarot rushed in again, hammering his opponent's defenses with intense, close-ranged blows.

"He's improving," he commented.

"Indeed," Salza replied. "His power waz at about 2400, the last time I checked his maximum. That was a few weeks ago, though."

A cry of pain interrupted them; Kakarot had misjudged the timing of a spinning kick, leaving himself open, and Aizu had landed a vicious gut punch, winding him. The yellow-skinned soldier floored the Saiyan child with a backhanded slap and then spun, kicking him away.

Cooler remained unmoved, casually watching the ongoing fight. _If he's not strong enough, he will suffer the consequences. That's the only way._

.

Kakarot weakly propped himself up on one hand, groaning in pain. _Damn it… I need to be stronger!_

Aizu, a tall alien with an elongated, almost cylindrical head, grinned, approaching him leisurely and charging up energy in one hand. "Nice try, little Saiyan, but you're nothing to me." He chuckled, the sound harsh and grating. "My power level's over 3000, well above yours! You're out of your depth here."

The young Saiyan barely heard him; the sound of his own heart pounding echoed in his ears, drowning out everything else. _How can I get strong enough to beat him?_

Snarling, he rolled over, raising his hand and firing a yellow energy bolt, but Aizu deflected it with a wave of his hand.

"Come on, is that really all you've got?" he taunted, his red eyes glittering in amusement. "Surely Lord Cooler's pet should be able to stand up for himself!" He fired a concentrated purple beam from his left hand, aimed directly at Kakarot.

_Crap!_ Kakarot reacted instinctively, launching a concentrated _kiai_ straight down and propelling himself up and over the oncoming beam, but the explosion still sent him tumbling, and Aizu appeared in front of him, punching him to the floor again.

Gasping in pain, Kakarot weakly pushed at the floor, trying to get up again. Before he could regain his feet, though, his opponent kicked him in the side, flipping him over. He cried out in pain, looking up to see Aizu standing over him with a cruel smirk.

"Nice try, brat," the alien soldier said, chuckling again as he raised one fist. "But if you're not strong enough, then you don't deserve to survive."

Kakarot clenched his hands into white-knuckled fists. _I… won't… lose!_

.

Salza's scouter beeped, registering an increase in power. He raised an eyebrow. "Sir, Kakarot's power… it's rising!"

Leaning forward slightly, Cooler observed with interest. Salza was right; Kakarot's power was increasing noticeably.

"Interesting," he murmured. _So, it takes extreme stress to bring out his dormant potential… I'll have to be careful not to push him too far, or he could break, but this could be very useful if we can take advantage of it in the right way._

.

Kakarot's field of vision turned red; his entire body was shaking now. He clenched his small fists tighter, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"Last chance," Aizu mocked, raising one fist. "Show me what you've got, little Saiyan… otherwise, I might as well just kill you now."

And then Kakarot's eyes opened wide, blazing with anger, and a blue-white aura flickered to life around him, building rapidly.

"Hrrr…" he growled. "Rrrr…grrr…RRAAAH!" His aura expanded, and a powerful gust of wind blasted outwards from his body. Aizu staggered backwards, knocked off-balance by the sudden onslaught of force.

Leaping to his feet, Kakarot charged, dashing across the room faster than his opponent's senses could follow. His fists slammed into the soldier's abdomen, doubling Aizu over, and he immediately jumped into the air, aiming a roundhouse kick directly at Aizu's elongated skull and focusing all of his energy into his leg and foot.

WHAM! The force of the impact echoed throughout the room; Aizu was knocked off-balance and fell backwards, his vision flickering and blurred.

"HAAAA!" Kakarot yelled, firing an intense, two-handed energy beam that struck Aizu dead-on, detonated, and blew him backwards across the room with a thunderous explosion and a flash of blue light.

Salza's eyes widened in shock. "Lord Cooler, his power has risen to almost four thousand!" he exclaimed.

Cooler smiled faintly, watching the Saiyan child with interest. _Now, that's what I was looking for._

The smoke cleared, revealing that Aizu was lying in a crumpled heap on the deck. His body was covered with scorch marks and bruises, and he appeared to be either unconscious or dead; Cooler didn't particularly care which one.

Kakarot, by contrast, was still standing, but he appeared to be completely exhausted. His armor was badly damaged, and he was swaying unsteadily on his feet, faint wisps of smoke still rising from his body.

"Well done, Kakarot," Salza complimented the boy from the balcony where he and Cooler stood watching. "Get yourzelf to ze medical bay."

"Yes, sir," Kakarot said weakly, before he turned and limped out of the room.

Cooler glanced casually down at Aizu's motionless body. "Have someone take him to the medical bay as well," he instructed.

"As you wish, my lord," Salza replied.

Turning, Cooler swept out of the room. "I'll be on the observation deck if anything important comes up," he called over his shoulder.

.

The observation deck of Cooler's ship was located at the very top of the vessel. The room's ceiling was transparent, giving its occupants a spectacular view of the stars. Cooler had arranged to have this room specially made for himself, as his personal meditation room.

Seated in an ornately designed, throne-like, black-and-gold chair, Cooler gazed up into the depths of space. He never tired of this view, and it offered him a perfect place to relax and meditate whenever it seemed appropriate.

The Arcosian closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, coiling his tail around one of the armrests to ensure that he remained comfortable. He calmed his mind, breathing slowly and deeply, and let himself enter a meditative state, reflecting on the current state of his empire.

Over the past twelve years, relations between Cooler and his brother Frieza had been changing. While they hadn't been particularly pleasant before, since the destruction of Planet Vegeta, Cooler had become more and more distant from his brother. This was primarily due to his growing distaste for his brother's "barbaric" methods of maintaining power.

_Frieza may have power, certainly far more than I do,_ Cooler thought to himself, _but he has no idea how to use it properly. He's far more childish than he lets on; he thinks that his strength alone will be enough to crush anyone who dares to challenge him._ He frowned. _I once said that you had a lot to learn, brother… and I was right. Unfortunately for you, though, it would seem that you _refuse_ to learn. How many more powerful, useful races will go the way of the Saiyans before you're done bathing the galaxy in blood?_

It sometimes seemed to Cooler that Kakarot might have been the cause of his increasing animosity towards Frieza. On the one hand, Kakarot was a useful weapon; on the other, there was no denying that Frieza had single-handedly slaughtered his entire race, for no reason other than that he was afraid of them. And, considering how much potential Kakarot had, there was no denying that the rest of his race could have been just as useful as he was… if they hadn't been killed.

_The Saiyans served him loyally, and he still eradicated them._ The tall Arcosian sighed. _They would have helped him for many more years, had he spared them; his power was far greater than theirs, even in his weakest form. The power he can access in his first form is nothing compared to what he's really capable of; even if the Saiyans _did_ turn on him, and somehow managed to overpower his first form, he could just have transformed. Instead, he used his usual "shoot first, consider the ramifications later" strategy, and wiped out some of his most useful servants._

Cooler hadn't forgotten that it was his own influence that had played a major role in Frieza's decision to destroy the Saiyan race. However, he had lately begun to regret the role he had played in that incident. He himself had never recruited any of the Saiyans for his own purposes, which meant that he'd had no personal investment in them whatsoever. But he'd still taunted Frieza with the legend of the Super Saiyan, stoking the fire of his paranoia and driving his brother to ultimately panic and massacre every last one of them.

And, now that he'd seen how much potential their race had, through Kakarot's example… he couldn't help regretting his actions.

_Forget it,_ Cooler decided. _It's already done; there's nothing I can do about it._ He opened his red eyes and stood, walking over to the transparent wall and resting one palm against the cold permaglass. Gazing out into the vast emptiness of space, he looked back and forth, taking in the incredible view of the stars.

_All those worlds out there,_ he thought. _All those people, countless different species. How many of them will Frieza kill before someone finally puts him down, I wonder?_ He sighed. _All kidding aside, if he isn't stopped, someday he'll start turning on his own servants. The entire Planet Trade Organization will eventually be torn apart._

Then he paused, his meditation taking a different turn. _Actually… there _is_ something I can do._ His lips curved in a faint smile. _I can stop him from dragging the empire into ruin._

_Which means I'll have to kill him._

His eyes narrowed. _But, as much as I hate to admit it, his power still exceeds my own by a wide margin. I can't defeat him with strength alone… but there must be another way. Everyone has a weakness, and my brother is no exception. I just have to find it._

A cold smirk spread across the tall Arcosian's face. "You may call yourself the supreme ruler of the galaxy, Frieza," he murmured, "but someday soon, we'll see which one of us is truly fit to lead this empire. But, however it turns out, I promise you this." His eyes burned intensely. "Before this is over… one of us will die."

.

_Mount Paozu_

_Planet Earth_

_Age 749_

Son Gohan walked along a mountain pathway through the forests surrounding his home, a log cabin on the slopes of Mount Paozu. Despite his aged appearance and isolated lifestyle, he was one of the strongest human beings on Earth, and a master of martial arts. His strength would have been obvious to anyone watching, as he was carrying a full-sized tree trunk on each shoulder.

Arriving in the clearing outside his home, Gohan set down both tree trunks on the ground, about to begin chopping them up for firewood. Just as he set to work, using his bare hands to chop the logs into pieces, the rumbling sound of an engine echoed through the forest. Lifting his head, he scanned the trees, just in time to see a car driving up the road towards his cabin.

The old man frowned. _Who would drive all the way out here?_

Pulling up in front of his house, the car came to a stop. The driver's-side door opened, and a young girl stepped out. She appeared to be in her mid-teens, with pale skin, light blue hair, and a cheerful expression on her face. She was wearing a small pistol in a holster at her waist, most likely for protection; she certainly didn't seem dangerous. All the same, Gohan kept a close eye on her, in case she tried to cause any trouble.

"Ah, hello, there," Gohan said, raising a hand in greeting. "What can I do for you, miss?"

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed, startled. "Uh… hello, sir. I know it might seem weird that I would just show up here, but… you wouldn't happen to have one of these lying around somewhere, would you?" As she spoke, she opened a small bag and removed two gleaming orange spheres, each with several red stars embedded in their surfaces.

Gohan's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I had no idea there were more of those things." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm curious; why exactly do you want mine, if you already have two? And how did you know that I had one to begin with?"

"Well, these things are called Dragon Balls," the girl explained, indicating the two spheres she was holding. "A legend says that there are seven of them, and if you can gather all seven together, apparently they'll grant you any one wish! I found one of them in my dad's basement; he brought it back from an archaeological expedition that he participated in a few years ago, and put it in storage. It turns out that the Dragon Balls generate a unique kind of energy; I was able to build a device that tracks that energy, so I could locate the rest of them. That's how I was able to find the one that you have here."

"Fascinating," Gohan murmured. "And what exactly is it that you want to wish for?"

"Well, to be honest…" The girl looked at the ground, blushing. "I want to wish for the perfect boyfriend."

The old man chuckled in amusement, reassured that she had no real intentions of harming anyone. "In that case, then yes, I'll give you the sphere – the Dragon Ball, that is – that I have. In return, though, I do have a condition."

The girl frowned. "All right… what's the condition?"

"I want to come with you on your journey to collect the rest of them," Gohan answered. "After all, if these things are as powerful as you say, then other people will most likely be looking for them, and you might need protection. You definitely shouldn't be going after them alone." He smiled in a friendly way. "So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

The girl seemed skeptical. "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but… you don't exactly seem like you'd be able to protect me."

Gohan straightened up, a faint smirk flickering across his face, and then vanished, moving so fast that the girl couldn't even see him move. She took a step back, her eyes wide in alarm.

"As I was saying," Gohan said conversationally, now standing directly behind her, "there are a lot of dangerous people out there, and you might need someone to help you find those Dragon Balls."

The girl spun around to face him, almost falling over as she stumbled backwards. "How… how did you…" she stammered.

"It's rather simple." Gohan shrugged. "I've been training in martial arts for a very long time; I'm much faster and stronger than the average person. And I know for a fact that there are other people out there who might very well be as strong and fast as me, so if one of them is looking for these Dragon Balls, I'd rather make sure that you're not in harm's way." He smiled kindly. "I apologize if I frightened you, but I needed you to understand. So, miss, I'll ask again. Do we have a deal?"

The girl considered for a long moment, and then smiled. "Yeah, we have a deal." She extended her hand and shook his. "My name's Bulma, by the way."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bulma. I'm Son Gohan." The old martial artist indicated his cabin with a wave of his hand. "If you'd like something to eat, I was almost finished preparing lunch when you showed up. Would you care to join me? I'd like to know more about these Dragon Balls before we get started."

Bulma nodded. "Sure, that sounds good." She followed him over towards the log cabin, talking animatedly as she began to recount the story of the Dragon Balls.

.

_AN: And here we are again. I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but hopefully this chapter made up for it!_

_So, as we've seen, Kakarot is definitely having an effect on Cooler, increasing his animosity towards Frieza. Now, this isn't because Cooler's starting to feel compassion for Kakarot; the Saiyan child hasn't affected him _that_ much. However, raising Kakarot and seeing his potential has made Cooler realize how useful the Saiyans were as servants, which highlights the pointless nature of Frieza wiping them out simply to satisfy his own paranoia. As a result, things between Cooler and Frieza are slowly becoming less and less friendly; things will begin to escalate more rapidly in future chapters._

_Now, regarding Aizu, the character I used in this chapter; if I didn't give a complete enough description of him, he looks like the yellow-skinned alien soldier who was executed by Frieza on Namek, after he found the village that Vegeta had wiped out. He's not going to be a very important character, but I needed someone for Kakarot to fight, so I made up a character who could fit that description. Since you might be wondering why he was acting so sadistically towards Kakarot in this chapter, it's because he thinks that Cooler gives Kakarot preferential treatment (which, to be fair, he does), and resents him for it._

_As for events on Earth, we'll actually be spending more time focusing on those events than we will on Kakarot and Cooler for the time being, simply because not much is going to happen to Kakarot for quite a while, and five or six chapters of him training over and over wouldn't be fun for anyone. So, for the next few chapters, this story will be primarily focused on the human Z-Fighters and how the events of _Dragon Ball_ are changed by the absence of Goku. Rest assured, I already have most of the Dragon Ball Saga planned out, and I think you'll like what I'm planning to do._

_Shoutouts to Dark-Automaton, VC18, Super Vegetarott, shequitachase, Izana Uzumaki, cerokun, The Darkest wizard, Proposer, Guest, Selkadoom13, ShadowLDrago, Ryu no Ohi, XxAnimusxx2016 and NNP for reviewing; you guys are awesome!_

_As always, I really appreciate receiving feedback on my work, so if anyone has a comment or question about this chapter or the story as a whole, please review!_

_Next chapter, Gohan and Bulma set off on their quest for the Dragon Balls, and Cooler begins planning a strategy to take down Frieza… stay tuned!_

_See you all next time!_

_Review Q&amp;A:_

_Q:__ Not bad so far, I do hope that you're able to update soon._

_A: Yeah, sorry it took me so long; hopefully this chapter made up for it!_

_Q: Really exciting idea. I'll keep an eye on your story to see where this goes to. Very well written. Keep it up!_

_A: Thanks! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!_

_Q: As someone who's made a name for himself regarding the whole 'Kakarot/Goku grows with a new father figure/environment in his life' fic idea(I've done it with Kakarot landing on Namek and near Muscle Tower and being raised by the RRA), I figured I'd check this one out and see how it worked out for you._

_Admittedly, it was decent. You made sure to include your divergence, the writing isn't half bad(that said, it could use some work for the future), and the idea itself is interesting. But to be frank, I don't see how Kakarot being raised as one of Cooler's soldiers is about to do anything for his persona(if anything, it's going to make him a LOT more like Vegeta - that's not exactly the best idea to use regarding this story) nor the story as a whole. I guess I'll see as the story plays out, though._

_In terms of errors, there was one where "belay" should've been "delay." Additionally, while there weren't that many errors in particular, it seems you have an abundant amount of semi-colons and dashes in your writing. I'd work on that, as otherwise the writing is terribly repetitive and it'll grow repetitive after a bit of time. Also, you tend to rely a bit too much on third person narration when you should really be letting the characters speak for themselves._

_"Cooler wanted this Saiyan to be able to think for himself..." is my primary example. Instead of telling us, show us. Show us how Cooler's deceptively calculating mind gave him the idea of wanting Kakarot to be an unrestricted soldier, free from the bindings and shackles of the typical Saiyan mindset. Just glossing over these things in narration hurts the story as a whole, in my opinion._

_Anyway, you've set the story up and I'm interested in seeing how this depiction of Kakarot is raised. I know from experience that the idea of remolding Kakarot into what the author wants me to be is some hard work, and you've got a tough task ahead of you - especially with this idea. _

_Good luck with the next chapter._

_A: Thanks, I really appreciate your taking time for such a thorough review! _

_Well, we'll have to see how Kakarot turns out, but don't worry, I have no intention of just making him Vegeta 2.0; what fun would that be? Remember, in this story he never got hit on the head, but he also never got programmed by the Attack Pod's computer (that, if you remember, was what turned him into the vicious, bloodthirsty child who Gohan found on Earth). So his development is going to be different from either of those alternatives._

_Well, actually, "belay" is the appropriate word in that situation; it means "to cease (an action), stop, or ignore (an announcement, order, etc.)". Plus, that's actually what Cooler says in the "Cooler's Revenge" movie (that's where I got that line)._

_I appreciate the recommendations; thank you very much for the advice!_

_Q: Looking nice...I will keep my eyes on this one..._

_A: Thanks!_

_Q: interesting fic  
pls update soon_

_A: Sorry it took me so long!_

_Q: Oh, this is going to be fun. I foresee Kakarot and Vegeta's rivalry getting off to an early start (possibly as a result of Cooler and Freeza arguing over whose Saiyan is better). Following!_

_A: We'll have to wait and see. So far, though, Cooler has made sure not to let Frieza know about Kakarot's existence, just in case he proves useful at some point._

_Q: This is an interesting story, please update soon._

_A: Thanks, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Q: I love the idea of this story. I actually had a similar idea of goku being raised by cooler but I didn't and still don't have a fanfiction account. You have my full support while writing this story and I hoped you update soon._

_A: Well, I'm glad that you're enjoying the story! Please let me know what you think!_

_Q: Great start. I wonder what you have planned for this story. Keep it coming dude._

_A: I have a lot of things planned for this story, actually; it should be really cool once I can get into the more exciting parts._

_Q: Well I can see this story already has an enormous amount of potential and wait eagerly for the next chap_

_A: Thanks, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Q: I wonder how the human Z Fighters will fare without Goku and if they will be able to beat King Piccolo, Mercenary Tao and the others..._

_A: An excellent question! We'll have to see how it goes._

_Q: Very interesting, despite being a short first chapter - there was a lot going on. I like how Kooler &amp; Sauza react to baby Kakarot. I imagine that the Armored Squadron will make for some...um...interesting babysitters, haha. Kooler might regret this when the baby Saiyan won't stop squalling...he might throw him out an airlock, hahaha._

_A: Yeah, raising a baby Saiyan on board a ship for twelve years would be an… interesting experience. And it was definitely awkward for Cooler and the Armored Squadron to interact with baby Kakarot; I imagine the constant crying didn't go over that well. Cooler himself didn't really do all that much, at least not until Kakarot became old enough to actually start training._

_Q: Great chapter, but will there be any time in the story where Cooler might actually grow somewhat attached to Kakarot, like as a son or close friend maybe as a brother-like figure?_

_A: Quite possibly! So far, Cooler only sees Kakarot as a weapon that he might be able to use against Frieza at some point, but that may change in the future._

_Q: This is a cool concept! Looking forward to the next chapter!_

_A: Thanks!_


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